A unique site focused on women's lifestyle and preventative cardiovascular health. From a female physician's point of view, I'll offer useful tips, tricks and information (as well as a little humor) to keep women heart healthy!

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Pumpkin, pumpkin everywhere! Well, I
love pumpkin just as much as the next Starbucks drive-through-er, but lets face
it, those pumpkin spice lattes (or PSL’s as the cool kids call it) do not help
with keeping the pounds off! So, what can we do to stay lean during this hectic
holiday season? Here are a few of my favorite tips:

1. Don’t forget your exercise routine! Let’s face it…it’s easy to
skip the morning jog or gym trip with family and friends in town; however, one
simple way of staying trim like the Christmas tree is to stay in your exercise
routine.

AVOID THE BREAD BASKET!

2. Fill up on salad, not bread. As a
rule of thumb, salad is more filling than bread. You will consume an
extraordinary amount of calories if you reach for the bread first. Go ahead and
pass the bread basket to the person next to you.

yuck. How do you guyseven drink these? Bleh!

3. Watch those chocolate martinis.
Alcoholic beverages are typically packed full of sugar and calories. I’m not
saying you can’t enjoy a few drinks, because I know you will anyway- BUT choose
wisely. Go for the simple cocktails like vodka tonic or rum and diet coke.
Avoid those sugary “holiday-ish” beverages.

4.Pack goodie-bags for traveling. I
tell all of my frequent traveler patients this: pack snack size Ziploc bags
with almonds, healthy trail mix, or cereal. Keep them with you while traveling,
so there is less temptation to go for that $10 bag of M&M’s at the airport
gift shop. A little planning ahead can save you a lot of calories and money!

1.No eggnog. Did you know that ONE
serving of eggnog has approximately 250 calories? (And we all know that we
don’t just have one serving!)

Gravy= FAT

2.No gravy. Mainly because it is made
out of…fat.

3.Nothing with “cream” or “candied” in
the name. Creamed spinach, cream of mushroom or chicken soup (in every
casserole, practically), candied yams.

Don't. Even. Think. About. It.

4.Cheesecake. Yes. Out of all
desserts, this one typically takes the “cake” in terms of calories. One piece
of cheesecake can have up to 700 calories! Alternative? Chocolate dipped
strawberries or a cookie or two.